Effectiveness of Sexual And Reproductive Health Training Program On Knowledge And Coping Strategies of Women With Mental Illness at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences Bangalore A Mixed Method Study

Abstract

Background Women with mental illnesses (WMI) face disadvantages due to their gender and their mental diseases. They can have severe issues with their reproductive health. They are more likely to use the family planning (FP) method less frequently and engage in high-risk sexual behaviour that increases their risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Women who suffer from psychiatric problems are more likely to encounter sexual assault and dysfunction. Psychotropic drugs may cause sexual dysfunction (SD), and vice versa. Further, a lot of women avoid talking about sexual functioning with doctors because they feel awkward discussing it or because they think these problems have nothing to do with illness. Therefore, in the context of mental health, it is necessary to investigate and raise awareness of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) concerns among WMI. Statement of the problem Effectiveness of sexual and reproductive health training program on knowledge and coping strategies of women with mental illness at National institute of mental health and neurosciences Bangalore - A mixed method study Aim The study aims to identify the SRH problems and to assess the efficacy of the SRH training programme on knowledge and coping strategies of WMI. Material and methods The present study has 2 phases, i.e., screening and intervention phases. For the screening phase, a sequential explanatory mixed method design was employed. Initially, a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out as part of the quantitative approach to determine the SRH problems among WMI. The study population included fertile women (18 49 years), length of illness gt one-year, brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS) and#8804;18, and the ability to converse with either Tamil, or English, or Kannada were invited to take part the study. The samples were chosen using a purposive sampling method (n=404). FP and STI questionnaires were taken from the reproductive health assessment tool kit provided by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (C